


the only friend he needs

by gothzabini (girl412)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Car rides, Gen, Hogwarts Fourth Year, I don't know how to tag this, M/M, Malfoy Family Feels (Harry Potter), Pre-Slash, Summer Vacation, i imagine this to be, references to lorde, teddy is practically scorp's elder brother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 05:11:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18684805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girl412/pseuds/gothzabini
Summary: A song that reminds Scorpius of Albus plays on the car radio, and of course Teddy notices.





	the only friend he needs

**Author's Note:**

> it's been SO long since i wrote scorbus, i was actually in the middle of writing another fic (i was in the middle of a sentence actually) and then this song started playing and i dropped everything to write this, lol. i tried not to make this entirely dependent on the song, like songfics can sometimes be. i wouldn't call this a songfic but maybe it is? the sentences in italics, in a smaller font than the rest of the text are lyrics from "buzzcut season" by lorde. 
> 
> anyway! have some teddy & scorp bonding + scorp daydreaming about albus. hope you like this!

It’s been three weeks into the holidays when _Buzzcut Season_ plays on the radio and Scorpius sits up, his spine ramrod straight. They’re in Teddy’s car, and Draco’s sitting shotgun. From Scorpius’s seat he can see the blue ends of Teddy’s hair, and he turns his head to look out of the window at the picturesque view of London’s city streets. 

He remembers the evening he and Albus had spent at that internet café, the way they’d shared the earphones so that both of them put one earpiece in their ear, their heads knocking together at one point. Albus had whispered something about how Lorde’s music just _got him, you know_? Scorpius wasn’t sure that he did, it sounded like she was singing about a very specific type of isolation. But when Albus caught his glance and gave him a soft smile, he’d begun to understand that there aren’t really _types_ of lonely. That in a lot of ways, all lonely people are the same.

_And I'll never go home again_

_(place the call, feel it start)_

“I wish I could live with you,” Albus had said. “Your dad’s so lovely.”

“What am I, bubotuber pus?” Scorpius had asked, half joking. 

“No, you’re the most important person in the planet, obviously,” Albus had said, knocking Scorpius’s shoulder with his. “You know that, don’t you? What you are, to me?” 

_Favourite friend_

_(and nothing's wrong when nothing's true)_

_I live in a hologram with you_

Scorpius had hummed in agreement, thinking of the time turner fiasco, of how he’d selfishly felt like the worst thing in every dystopian timeline was the absence of Albus. They’d always functioned as a single unit, two parts of the same whole. Albus was, in a lot of ways, the only friend Scorpius needed, and it was dizzyingly stable knowing that the feeling was mutual. 

_Where all the things that we do for fun (and I'll breathe, and it goes)_

_Play along (make-believe it's hyper real)_

“You know that I love you, right?” 

He’d obviously meant as friends, Scorpius figured. But that said, it was nice having someone say that to him. He’d nodded at Albus, gently linked their fingers together.

_But I live in a hologram with you_

“I love Lorde,” Teddy says to Draco, bringing Scorpius back to the present.

“The music you kids listen to is just strange,” Draco says, and Scorpius knows that if Teddy weren’t driving Draco would’ve done something embarrassing to Teddy, like ruffling his hair or punching his shoulder. 

“The music Mum, Dad, and Sirius listened to was stranger,” Teddy points out. “You’re just a boring old man, Draco.” 

If Scorpius said that to his dad, his dad would sulk for a week.  Since it was Teddy, Draco just laughed. 

“It’s called having a refined taste in music,” Draco corrects in what Albus has always called _the posh Malfoy voice._ It’s more a tone, than anything. 

“I love her 2013 album,” Teddy goes on to say. 

“Me too,” Scorpius says softly. He suddenly misses Albus more than anything. He takes the bottle of water Teddy always keeps in his car and takes a small sip. 

“It’s interesting how in this album she’s singing about her best friend, amongst other things,” Teddy says, “and it sounds like the best form of love.” 

Scorpius chokes on his water. He’s certain Teddy is doing this on purpose. 

“Well, caring about someone platonically is the best base for a romantic relationship,” Draco points out, probably entirely unaware of the subtext that Teddy’s implied. “I was best friends with Astoria before anything else, and that made us better romantic partners.” 

“Sure,” Teddy says. “It’s a compatibility thing, I suppose. Nothing beats falling in love with your best friend.” 

Scorpius thinks his palms are sweating. 

Teddy accelerates a little, smoothly drives the car into a free slot. Once the car’s parked and the engine is off, Draco unbuckles his seatbelt and pops open the car door, getting out of the car as if there’s a time limit on these things. Teddy gets out next, relatively unhurried, but still with the focus of someone who needs to go somewhere. Scorpius just sits in his seat, the belt still on. He knows his dad’s excited about the art gallery, but something heavy and solid seems to have settled in his chest, something that feels like _Albus._

Teddy walks across, opens the car door on Scorpius’s side. He even leans forward, presses the buckle and watches the belt as it whizzes away. Scorpius is vaguely aware of his dad already standing in a queue for tickets or something, talking to the person in front of him in a way that isn’t exactly animated, but for Draco is as animated as it gets. 

“Hey,” Teddy says softly, even though there’s no way they can be overheard. “It’ll be alright.” 

Scorpius doesn’t need to ask what he’s talking about.

Teddy takes his hand, gently pulls him out of his seat and leads him out of the car. “Trust me.” 

Scorpius almost hates the fact that his cousin is too perceptive for his own good. 

“This album is our thing,” he murmurs to Teddy. “Mine and Albus’s, I mean.” 

“I could tell,” Teddy says, and ruffles Scorpius’s hair in the same way Draco ruffles his. “Now, let’s go, baby snake. Your dad’s waiting.” 

Scorpius hums. He still misses Albus, and Lorde’s voice saying _Favourite Friend_ is fresh in his mind, but he focuses on the sight in front of him. 

He can make it through summer, he thinks, already planning what to write in his next letter to his best friend. He knows he can do it. 

Teddy gives him a gentle smile, and after ensuring that no Muggles are watching them, he carefully shifts his hair to Malfoy blonde and his irises to grey. 

“You could be my elder brother,” Scorpius says, wondering. 

“Where’s the lie?” Teddy agrees, letting go of Scorpius’s hand to wrap an arm around him instead, propelling him towards where Draco is waiting with three tickets in his hand. 

“Thank you,” Scorpius murmurs, and Teddy squeezes his shoulder gently. 

**Author's Note:**

> all lorde songs are scorbus songs (except royals i think, rose granger-weasley can have that one)  
> hope you enjoyed!
> 
> html was slightly wonky but i just left it that way, whoops


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